For any young driver, the often colossal cost of car insurance is one of the most discouraging aspects of running a car.

Legislation means there’s no way around it anymore; anyone caught driving an uninsured car can expect to be fined £300 and handed six penalty points, which can escalate to an unlimited fine and an outright driving ban if the case goes to court.

Research found that on average, young motorists spend £2,013 a year on car insurance with many others paying a lot more than that. But according to estimations from the Association of British Insurers, the average comprehensive policy rings in at £462 a year, which is well under a quarter of what young motorists are expected to pay.

Considering many young drivers opt for modest, low-price cars, the cost of annual insurance exceeds the value of the actual vehicle in many cases.

This may all be about to change though, after a petition to cap insurance premiums at £1,200 for drivers aged 18-25 secured more than 180,000 signatures.

This means the matter will now be discussed in Parliament and it comes after the government announced plans to change personal injury payouts, which are expected to raise premiums for young drivers by up to £1,000. Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond has now ordered a review of the plans before they go through.

A price cap would most certainly be great news for young drivers, but there are fears that the rest of the motoring public could be worse off.

The British Insurance Broker’s Association (BIBA) believes the cost of young driver claims would be passed on to other motorists through higher premiums. Alternatively, insurers could simply refuse to cover certain drivers.

Instead, BIBA would prefer to see young drivers spared from the Insurance Premium Tax, which will rise from 10 to 12 per cent in June.

Speaking to Auto Express, a spokesperson for the government said: “We have engaged insurers in this process, so that they can have confidence that additional measures will make a real difference that can be rewarded with lower premiums.”

No date has been confirmed for when the matter will be discussed as yet.

For fairly priced premiums for young and new drivers, get a quote from Performance Direct, the specialists in new drivers.